A firm grounding in change theory can provide educational leaders with an opportunity to orchestrate meaningful organizational improvements. This article provides an opportunity for practicing leaders to review four major theories of organizational change--continuous improvement, two approaches to organizational learning, and appreciative inquiry.…

Experiential learning has been documented as an effective method for student learning, yet its use in large-enrollment classes remains limited. Kolb's experiential learning theory emphasizes that experiential learning requires a hospitable learning space (HLS) that is conducive to learning. In this article, we reframe the challenges to…

Crucial to the success of Pacific learners is the engagement of schools with the learners' families and their communities. This article reports on a small-scale study which focussed on home-school relationships for Pacific secondary learners in Aotearoa New Zealand. It explored good practice and further considered how schools might develop their…

Within the context of a global pandemic and challenges of adapting pedagogical practice to virtual instruction, four higher education professors came together to share observations and review student feedback regarding their online learning experiences. Using an Appreciative Inquiry (Cooperrider & Srivastva, 1987) theoretical framework,…

Elements of strength-based pedagogy are evident in current practices being implemented in Canadian schools as well as internationally. Classroom teachers appreciate the importance of creating a positive learning environment for students where the latter feel a sense of belonging, choice, and self-efficacy toward their learning (Deci & Ryan,…

The goal of this study was to learn how school leaders in a complex adaptive system that is a suburban public high school influenced a process of adaptive change to the instructional core and how they were influenced by the process. For many years, U.S. public school leaders have faced challenges from the rapid pace of change in their internal and…

This research demonstrates that cooperative inquiry (CI) offers authentic opportunities for academics to transform their teaching, paving the way for additional collaborative practices in higher education across a range of disciplines. Using data from cycles of action and reflection, a multidisciplinary group of seven tertiary teachers committed…

This case study outlines an appreciative inquiry approach to program reform using an agricultural teacher education program at a land-grant university that had begun to suffer from a large decline in student enrollment. Documents were analyzed that provided recommendations toward a master plan for reform made by 23 key agents based on their…

The COVID-19 escalation of cases in Australia in March 2020 instigated a swift and comprehensive conversion of classroom instruction to online learning for all students and staff at Christian Heritage College (CHC), a private Higher Education Institution (HEI) in Brisbane. Technology integration exploded on "all fronts," including online…

Background: Given the persistent gap among majority and minority students in international measures of student outcomes, there is growing attention and research focused on teacher knowledge, learning and professional development. Culturally responsive practice has been posited as one way to ameliorate disparities in outcomes. Proponents of…

In November 2019, scholars and practitioners from ten higher education institutions celebrated the launch of the iKudu project. This project, co-funded by Erasmus[superscript +], focuses on capacity development for curriculum transformation through internationalisation and development of Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) virtual…

Appreciative inquiry (AI) offers a constructive, strengths-based framework for engaging students and staff in the enhancement of academic programmes of study. This paper explores the basis of AI, its potential for educational development and the many agendas it might help address. Students and academic staff involved in an AI project, focused on…

Calls for a decolonized curriculum in South Africa are gaining momentum. Contrary to the school curriculum that privileges knowledge from a western perspective, indigenous knowledge systems appreciate and draw from local content and forms of knowing. A number of studies have expressed the value of indigenous knowledge systems, and the need for…

The advancement of technology has reorganised how we live, how we communicate and how we learn. Learning has changed to a continual process in which knowledge transforms into something of meaning through connections between sources of information and the formation of useful patterns. In contradiction to traditional theories, learning can result…

Urban schools often experience rapid turnover among teachers and leaders. Yet, research and practice highlight the importance of sustained leadership over time as an integral component of school improvement. Successful leadership requires principals who operate in multiple dimensions at once, moving from individual capacity to group empowerment,…